Twilight's Kindergarten
by ginahowsen
Summary: This story is about Edward and Bella meeting in kindergarten and thier adventures with the rest of the twilight characterss. It includes characters from all over the series and some are paired with different families and friends. Stephenie Meyer owns all!
1. Chapter 1

Twilight's Kindergarten

Twilight's Kindergarten

Chapter 1: Introduction

TPO (Third Person Omniscient):

Rain gently drops from the slightly overcast sky, while students begin to trickle towards the grounds accompanied by umbrellas and anxious faces. The first to

approach the heavy double doors was a Father treading carefully clinging tightly to his daughter's tiny hand. She beamed up at him through the thin veil of water

now coating her face, and grasped her lunch tin in her hand that was not holding her father's, swinging it joyfully in tune with her skipping. Her father was now

regretting watching the sports channel in place of the weather station this morning, for he had neglected to pack his navy police umbrella in his cruiser. Instantly his

thoughts were drawn from his worrying to panic as he noticed the small girl's hand was no longer wrapped around his own. She was sprawled upon the ground a

step behind where he now stood with blood dripping from her left knee and tears welling in her beautiful brown eyes. Her lunch box had fallen to the ground and

was currently open revealing a clumsily prepared peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which had been a result of her refusing help in fear that it might stifle her

independence, and an ajar thermos spilling it's purple contents onto the soaked sidewalk.

"Bella honey are you okay?" the father frantically spoke as he hurried to his injured daughter's side.

"I'm fine daddy." she replied, "It's only a slight abrasion!"

Charlie, her father, laughed silently to himself at this statement; for Bella had been hurt so frequently that she memorized almost every ailment possible. Of course,

her impeccable vocabulary was also partly due to her being an avid reader, having already read books that were perhaps more suitable for fourth graders while she

was but six.

Right as Charlie was preparing to pull his daughter up from the soggy concrete, another hand secured itself around hers and softly brought her fragile frame to it's feet.

"Hello, my name's Edward. Are you alright?" said a calm voice with just a hint of sincere concern.

"Oh, I'm fine. My name's Bella. Actually it's Isabella, but you can just call me Bella. It's sort of my nickname, I mean I'd really rather you call me Bella, but if you prefer, you could call me Isabella, I suppose." Bella spoke in a flustered tone which steadily silenced to a whisper as she grew more and more embarrassed.

"Nice to meet you Bella", Edward said, easing her discomfort.

His auburn hair lay plastered tightly against his face as the rain continued to drench the scene, his hand still fastened to hers. After this, the two children simply

stood staring into each other's eyes, speechless. Both of them watched the face opposite them contemplating questions concerning the other and feeling generally

appeased; Bella gazing into Edward's green eyes, and him into her deep brown ones.

"Bells, we'd better get inside, you're getting drenched." Charlie stated abruptly breaking the silence, in which he was the only uncomfortable participant.

"Hello Captain Swan, I see you've already met my son." Edward's father said smoothly as he strolled towards Edward.

"Hey there Dr. Carlisle, I didn't know you have a kid." Charlie said in a genuinely surprised tone.

"Well, I only just adopted him a week ago", replied Carlisle, "His parents were in a car accident, when the ambulance got them to me, it was just too late. I simply couldn't allow him to go to foster care." he added in a quiet whisper meant only for Charlie's ears. Somehow, Edward picked up on this exchange though, and a sullen look cascaded down his face. Charlie noticed Edward's now depressed mood, and shot Carlisle an apologetic look. Edward's father responded with an expression that showed forgiveness, which thinly veiled a stronger emotion that conveyed worry for his son.

"Edward, would you like to walk with me to the classroom?" Bella offered promptly disliking the silence that seemed to cause him such pain.

"Sure Bella." He replied, relieved not exclusively at the distraction, as he gathered the contents of her lunch box only to carry it himself.

Bella didn't wait to see her father's nod of approval as she blithely grabbed hold of Edward's pale hand that nearly matched her own and commenced skipping

toward the now thickly obscured entrance.


	2. Introductions Part II

Twilight's Kindergarten:

Twilight's Kindergarten:

Chapter 2- Introductions Part II

TPO (Third Person Omniscient)

Once all the students were collected in the temporarily festive front hall along with a horde of anxious parents, their principal addressed the congregation.

"First I would like to begin with introductions, my name is Mr. Aro. I'm very glad to welcome you all to WPA, or Washington Preparatory Academy. As most of you are aware, we educate children from kindergarten to high school. Since you are the kindergarten class, your children will be instructed by Miss Esme. Now I will hand the microphone over to her, so she might enlighten you on our curriculum."

"Alright, as you know, I am Esme, and will be the kindergarten teacher this year."

As she rambled on about projects and various fieldtrips the class would participate in, Edward's father stared agape at the light mahogany hair draped lightly over her shoulders. Her animated face amused him fully and he had no way of knowing when she had stopped talking and the parents had begun to say their good-byes.

"They grow up so fast" Charlie said, "What are you looking at?"

"Oh, nothing" Carlisle said finally being severed from his gaze as he noticed Esme had long since left. He absentmindedly followed Charlie out who had also not overlooked that this beautiful teacher's name contained a Miss instead of a Mrs.

The kids assembled alphabetically in a line against the wall upon instruction from Miss Esme. The room was heavily decorated with banners and streamers containing the school colors of blue and gold. Squirming uncontrollably in their assigned positions the children commenced chatting while their teacher sorted out today's lunch arrangements with one of the cafeteria staff.

"Oh, hey, over here, Edward" screeched a tiny girl from the bustling lobby. She secretively dodged her way through the line to be next to Edward who had not allowed Bella to continue onto her own spot.

"Hello Alice" Edward replied knowing who had called out his name right away.

"I haven't seen you in like a year! Who's this?" she added on after realizing Edward was still connected to Bella's hand. Letting go of her, he flashed Alice a smile which showed his embarrassment.

"This is Bella. It does feel like a year, but really it's only been a week" replied Edward, after noticing how short a time had passed since Emmett's pine wood derby. This being the only reason his brother joined scouts, and remaining the yearly tradition he had participated in with Rosalie. After he noticed he knew the answer to Bella's now confused face, he added. "And Bella, this is Alice, our siblings are close friends."

His voice hinted at something slightly more than friendship, but Bella could not be sure. To end the moment of introductions Bella began conversing with her new friends.

"So, you both have siblings in the higher grades?"

"Yeah, my sister Rosalie is in second grade with Edward's brother Emmett."

"I'm an only child." Bella replied feeling a bit left out from having no brothers or sisters of her own. Edward picked up on this silent dilemma and promptly switched the topic off of family.

"So what did you two do over the summer?" While his question had been meant for both girls, he faced only Bella. Observing this she responded first.

"I went down to Phoenix to visit my mom."

"Oh," Edward's answer carried a deflated tone when he assumed Bella would feel uncomfortable to discuss her parent's obvious divorce. Bella instantly knew what had worried him and clarified the statement.

"It's alright, my parents separated a long time ago when I was really little. I normally live with my mom, but she's letting me go to school here, because my dad went to this academy." While in truth the reason Bella was attending WPA had nothing to do with her father's attendance, she remained completely oblivious of this.

"I got to got to acting camp, and we made our own costumes and props and everything! My costume was the best, because no one else could sew." Alice stated proudly having become rather annoyed that she was denied the chance to answer Edward's inquiry.

"Yes, I know Alice. You only mentioned it about twenty times!' Edward jokingly accused.

"Really? Last time I counted it was up to about twenty five." Alice said between fits of laughter. Bella, only half understanding the joke, decided to giggle anyway.

Amidst their joyous conversation a blonde boy of the taller persuasion began to sneak past his mother, the distracted Miss Esme, towards the musical laughter of the girl he would come to know as Alice Hale.


	3. Rescues, Mayhem, and Precautions

Twilight's Kindergarten

Twilight's Kindergarten

Chapter 3- **Rescues, Mayhem, and Precautions**

TPO (Third Person Omniscient)

"Hey guys", the blonde boy said as he walked closer to the gathering of friends.

"Hello Jasper. So your mom is going to be our teacher?" Edward casually inquired.

"Yep," His answer revealed a slight southern accent, "She used to teach middle school, but now she's gonna teach us." Obviously he was not totally enthralled by this fact.

"You're Miss Esme's son?" Questioned Bella, wondering why Edward already knew so many of the children.

"Yep, oh yeah, my name's Jasper." He added; only being previously acquainted with Edward.

"This is Bella, and that's Alice." Edward responded pointing accordingly to the girls on his left and right.

"Nice to meet you Jasper" Alice excitedly said, being very elated at the chance to make a new friend.

While the four children conversed blithely their instructor, Miss Esme, concluded her talk with the head chef and began strolling back to her students. Their positions were expectedly abandoned so she whistled loudly to the class. Once all their attentions were captured she ordered them to assume their places in line, after which she signaled for them to leave. The line marched orderly towards the kindergarten classroom which resided two halls away from their original spot along a wall in the front lobby.

"Hey Bella" a raspy voice dripping with eerie mystery whispered from behind where Miss Swan now stood, causing her to jump suddenly and stiffen all over. After turning to face backwards, she noticed the greeting came from a short girl with loose locks of honey colored hair arranged in a fancy hairstyle. She was clothed in a light mauve dress that fanned out at the bottom.

"Oh, hi" replied a frightened Bella.

"My name is Jane" Informed the creepy child.

"That's a nice name" Bella choked, now becoming more timid as she momentarily forgot how to participate in a conversation.

"Thank you, you are quite pretty Isabella, or as you prefer, Bella" complimented a rather calm Jane. This statement, however, only caused Bella's skin to become infected with goose bumps.

"Um, thanks. You too" Bella, not knowing how to respond, decided to simply say whatever might please the girl opposite her in hopes she would find what she was seeking and then could leave her be.

"Why thank you. You know, you would fit in very well in my Volturi Club." Her voice sinisterly manipulated Bella's thoughts.

"Really?" answered Bella light-headedly, now entirely emerged in Jane's trance.

"Why yes, in fact I think-", but she was not permitted to finish her sentence because her hold on Bella was interrupted by a short boy ramming into the manipulative girl across from her. They hit the ground in a loud thud causing Jane to momentarily lose her composure. Once both children returned to their feet though, she collected herself and hoped forward a couple places in the line.

"You stay away from her Jane!" possessively ordered the boy who was beginning to assimilate with a group of chattering girls. Once Bella had successfully broken from her lapse in consciousness she spun around to face her savior.

"Thanks" she muttered gratefully.

"It was my pleasure Bella. By the way, I'm James." Upon hearing this, Bella began to wonder why everyone seemed to know her name already. After a moment of pondering this anomaly, she decided he must have overheard her speaking with Jane. While this explained him, it didn't uncover the mystery of Jane knowing her identity, but she also had many other strange aspects to her. One was how she managed to stun others into a state of helplessness.

"Did she hurt you?" inquired a deeply concerned James.

"No. What just happened?" Bella was now regaining her sanity and confusion wrapped around her thoughts. Apparently Jane can render people helpless, but how, and what was she trying to accomplish?

"She has, well, I mean, just stay away from her." And after sputtering this last statement out, he bolted back further in the line and hid behind one of the larger kids. Bella considered this odd behavior in the very least, but quickly changed her thoughts to not tripping over the loose tile that jutted from the floor right in front of her left foot.

Soon the whole group had squeezed through the single door frame and started filling in the numerous desks that circled the room in an elliptical arrangement. Posters and brilliantly colored diagrams cluttered the edges of the chamber along with the enormous wipe off board. An atmosphere of bustling children and projectiles being tossed benevolently about confirmed that the first day of school had indeed arrived. Upon settling the chaos down a bit, Miss Esme spoke to the restless cluster of kids.

"So, today children, since it's the first day, we are going on a picnic. If you all would grab your lunches, we can get on the bus." After saying this, the room erupted into a fit of unanimous screeching and boisterous yelping for joy. Naturally Alice squealed with the most magnitude, and only settled down to the accepted decibel level when Jasper's hand cupped itself over her shoulder and gently soothed her excessive behavior. Promptly following this massive uproar the teacher struggled to silence the now savage children. This was accomplished eventually and once it was she finally noticed a hand that had been raised for some time.

"Yes?" Esme asked, flustered from the recent pandemonium.

"Where are we going?" questioned a tall girl seated in the center of the front row. Her hair was unnaturally blonde and clung to her head in a tight perm. The tone she used contained an apparent sense of superiority.

"Well, we were going to go to a beach down in La Push." She replied overlooking the child's disrespect.

Once the class learned they would be going to the beach, they could no longer be controlled even by the repeated attempts by their teacher, so they were simply herded out the door and into the elongated bus that would deliver them at their destination. Screaming died to a low chatter as the children were informed of the dangers that unruly behavior in moving vehicles triggered.

"Edward, I'm pretty sure I won't need this jacket." Bella told Edward, clearly upset by him insisting on her wearing it.

"But you didn't bring any sun screen." He replied refusing to allow ultraviolet rays to harm her pale skin. His stubbornness only encouraged Bella to pout more intensely attempting to break his absurd sense of protection, but to no avail. Coming to the conclusion that they were now at a stand still, both children searched their minds desperately to locate some idea that would break the stalemate.

"Hey Alice, do you have some sunscreen?' Bella inquired upon recognizing a way to escape wearing Edward's heavy jacket.

"Yeah, I expected they would take us to the beach or a park or something today." She cheerfully stated while retrieving a small pink bottle from her bag.

Bella reached over the back of her seat to receive the lotion wondering how Alice had known there would be a field trip today, but failing to care too profusely; this being the sole thing saving her from dealing with a bulky coat throughout their sunny day at the beach. Scheduling a trip to the beach seemed odd considering it was August in Washington; however this fact bothered no one, since it was sunny after all.

"See" Bella said smugly while glaring playfully at the boy sitting beside her. She handed Edward his jacket back after he nodded in defeat. However, he was not terribly upset, considering Bella was still protected, given that he applied the lotion. Edward would not allow the chance that radiation might burn his Bella; no he must see that it is properly smoothed over every patch of her precious exposed skin. This part of his internal planning could wait until their arrival though, so he relaxed for the remaining ride.

Following this exchange silence fell over the bus as the children were finally winding down slightly. Lunch was not for at least an hour and already many of the students had drifted to sleep while studying the familiar landscape. Among the students who succumbed to the gentle rocking of the bus' unsteady frame was Bella. Edward immediately draped his jacket over her sleeping figure, while being careful not to move his arm which had become the pillow for Bella's fragile head. Shortly after she closed her eyes, her voice began to ramble on involuntarily whispers.

"Daddy, I want to pack my lunch today… No Jacob that's my sea shell, give it back… Oww, how did you talk me into learning to ride this death trap…?" Edward courteously began to tune out her audible thoughts just as she spoke something pertinent to his ears.

"Edward", at her mention of his name a little grin formed on her face, which in turn caused one to erupt on his as well.

"Wear your coat Edward, you're freezing... I didn't know you like Lion's Choice…?"

All her random mumblings following this included the little boy seated next to her. In an attempt to give her some privacy, Edward decided to listen to his tape deck. As he untangled the head phones from around the plastic device he noticed two eyes were watching him intently. When he examined the person who owned the bright blue eyes, he realized that this was the girl who had eagerly asked Miss Esme where the class' endeavor was to lead

"Hi! My name's Tanya, what's yours?" Her voice was high pitched and grated unpleasantly against his eardrums.

"I'm Edward." His indifferent response was apparently not what she had anticipated, so she inquired further.

"Did you know my daddy owns his own car dealership?" She rhetorically asked. Her mood lightened even more, if that was indeed possible, for knowing the word dealership pleased her greatly.

"That's nice." Edward replied rather annoyed by her interrupting the Led Zeppelin he was preparing to listen to. Unfortunately this apathetic response only caused her determination to increase.

"You know, I won a beauty contest this summer." With this remark, beams of light emitted from her superficial core. He was now thoroughly glad Bella had fallen asleep with the first wave of children, because he did not wish for her to witness his approaching rude behavior.

At the moment Edward planned to permanently discourage this Tanya girl, Miss Esme addressed the bus load of kindergarteners.

"Alright everyone, grab your belongings. We're here!"

_( Lion's Choice is a fast food chain in Missouri, it's only mentioned because Edward prefers mountain lions in the book and so as a human he likes this restaurant. Also from the previous chapter, they way he knows Alice even though he was adopted was because his original parents lived in Washington too, he knows them from then. Alice doesn't mention it because she knows how much it pains him. Also, it will be later revealed why Emmett wasn't with Edward and Carlisle in the beginning coming to school. Just to clear a few things up.)_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4-

Chapter 4- Nourishment, Meetings, and Some Unorganized Fun

1,846 Words

TPO (third person omniscient)

Tanya slid back to her original position in front of her new obsession just as the bus suddenly parked along the edge of a grassy clearing. All the children began to rise when they noticed it was safe to move about. Edward softly nudged Bella's shoulder after gathering up their belongings. She reluctantly awoke from her slumber and instantly blushed from the embarrassment of having slept leaning against him.

"It's time to go" Edward informed her while she stretched her weary limbs preparing for tackling the narrow aisle between the seats currently filled with a throng of students. Everyone was eager to emerge themselves in the sunlight that was now more intense because trees no longer hung over their heads. Alice had ecstatically advanced to the hull of the bus upon arrival so she and Jasper were the first to exit the crowded vehicle.

"Now, now one at a time" pleaded Esme as the pool of children transformed into a massive battleground of individuals fighting for the open air. Edward gripped Bella's wrist tightly refusing to release her into the arena that was before them. Finally the daunting mob of kindergarteners deflated to a mere trickle, and this is when he reassuringly pulled Bella down the pathway. Being in a breathless state impaired her already weak balance, so Edward managed to support most of her weight on his side, however even this was not sufficient. Without thinking, he hoisted her atop his back and carried her fragile figure through the passage towards the door.

"Thanks" Bella muttered once he set her slightly trembling body down on a bench.

"It was nothing. Are you alright? Do you want some water? A cracker?" asked a very serious Edward as he commenced seating himself so close to Bella that their arms hung little more than an inch apart. His eyes locked onto hers, sincerely afraid that she might faint at any moment.

"No, I'm fine, really. This happens all the time" her voice was regaining its usual strength, but it was taking time. Of course Edward's eyes pouring concern into hers only added to the list of obstacles that were currently preventing her from recovering. Knowing that Bella nearly faints on a regular basis worried him more though, and he instinctively fished a granola bar out of his jacket and fed it to an unwilling Bella.

"Bella, turn around so I can put some sunscreen on your back" Edward instructed while she resentfully chewed on the nutrition he basically shoved down her throat. Unwilling to argue, she obliged and abruptly faced away from his emerald eyes.

"Fine, but I get to do you next!" Bella triumphantly informed him as he continued to rub the lotion onto her revealed skin more carefully than necessary. Unfortunately Edward accepted these terms without another word for fear that arguing this point might result in weakening her protection, leaving Bella feeling hopelessly beaten. Once they both completed covered the other with a thick layer of oil, it was time to explore the surrounding brush.

"Hey Bella, are you done with the sun tan lotion yet?" asked an overly exuberant Alice. Her anticipating this field trip clearly had not dulled her excitement, because she happened to be at least two times more ecstatic than everyone else.

"Sure" Bella answered while handing over the bottle, all the time attempting to avoid becoming the focus of this excessively enthusiastic girl's attention. Alice received the lotion and pranced back to her previous location where Jasper was waiting to calm her to a normal level of happiness.

Miss Esme began preparing the picnic tables while readying herself for the children's bombardment that would soon follow.

"Okay, kids" their teacher shouted once the lunch places were tended to, "Everyone can take a seat and eat your meals, and once you're finished, you can all go to the beach or explore, but make sure you go everywhere with a buddy, alright?" All the children replied with yelps of understanding, shortly followed by a raging flow of bodies to the picnic area.

"Mind if we sit here?" inquired a fair sized boy with blonde hair combed to the side in a classic "first day of school" style. Over his shoulders rested a casually slung bag with so many key chains hooked onto it that quite a few of them dragged on the ground as he walked towards the table where Alice and Jasper had only just arrived.

"Sure! The more the merrier" Alice responded anxious to learn more of this curious person. At this invitation the boy grinned pleasantly, perhaps too pleasantly, for Jasper noticed that his attention focused exclusively on Alice, slightly upsetting poor Jasper's fragile emotions.

"Why don't you sit here?" Jasper stealthily asked this friendly kid while simultaneously patting the open spot on his right, conveniently farthest from black haired pixie on his left. Somehow Alice seemed to perceive exactly what was currently going on, and she scooted slightly to the left so as to fill up that side of the bench. While the new boy seemed oblivious to this shift his smile faded a bit knowing he would be deprived of sitting next to this bubbly girl that instantly caught his attention.

"Sure, c'mon guys", the blonde kid said as he reluctantly seated himself next to Jasper. Shortly after, a group of children followed his lead, placing themselves around the table.

"So, I'm Alice, and this is Jasper", cheerfully announced Alice while Jasper waved awkwardly. After this the boy who so recently had spoken decided to introduce his bunch.

"Um, I'm Mike. This is Eric across from me, and that's Angela next to him. Lauren's right there. Jessica's beside her and this is Laurent on my right. Oh, hey where's Tyler?"

"I haven't seen him since we got here actually" added Jessica.

"Oh well, so that's the gang" Mike finished eager to consume his ham sandwich.

"How do you guys know each other already?" inquired Alice as she pierced her juice pouch with a straw.

"You see… we live in the same neighborhood… we're all pretty close…" said Mike between bites. Alice and Jasper nodded content with his answer while Laurent carefully picked at his tin of chilled ravioli.

"Hey, Laurent, you like cold ravioli?" The idea of eating nearly frozen Italian food simply disgusted Alice. Laurent responded by hunching farther over his meal and stuffing a spoonful of meat filled noodles. To this Eric rolled his eyes in an exaggerated fashion causing Alice to barely hold in a giggle.

Meanwhile, Bella wandered lazily through the brush accompanied by a rather frantic Edward. So far he had succeeded in protecting his danger prone friend from the grasps of a poison ivy patch, two anthills and a misplaced stick jutting precariously out of their path. After traveling deep into the foliage, Edward spied a fallen tree and suggested they rest for a minute.

"Let's play a game!" exclaimed Bella as she adjusted her barrette. Edward deemed this an appropriate idea, so long as this game was in no way hazardous.

"Why don't we play," it seemed every activity he thought of happened to be potentially risky, "um…?"

"Oh, I know! Lets play hide and seek" Unfortunately he disagreed with this plan, mostly because it provided the perfect opportunity for Bella to trip, become lost, or any other number of predicaments, so he promptly dismissed the idea.

"No, I play that one far too often, how about I SPY?" asked Edward, elated that he finally had discovered a safe option.

"I stink at that one. What about freeze tag?" Bella inquired hoping Edward would decide upon something active. After sitting in a bus all day she was yearning to run around. Sensing her desire for something involving movement, he delved deeper in his mind until he found a suitable choice. Suddenly he found the ideal game.

"Do you like to play pretend?" Personally Edward didn't mind, however him being the prince was a requirement.

"Oh I love that one! Of course we get first pick, I'll be the princess. And you?" Bella was now in a state of pure euphoria. Knowing that Edward wanted to play pretend was just marvelous, because she had never before met a boy who actually liked that game over tag. The beach also happened to be the preferred location for this choice, mostly due to providing building materials for sand castles.

"Perfect so I'll be the prince, now let's go get the others" said Edward while he stood up and offered Bella his hand.

"Yes, let us fetch them Prince Edward" she formally stated, already in character.

Both children raced back to the clearing where everyone was now engorging themselves. Once they spotted where Jasper and Alice were seated, Edward spoke.

"We are here to inform you of the pretend game that is now in place, and officially ask you to join us." Edward elegantly explained as he straightened his back and linked his arm with Bella's. Her expression discreetly betrayed their performance when she let slip a silent giggle. News of such a game sparked the interest of everyone assembled and instantly all where partaking.

"Now, to straighten things out a bit, I am the princess and Edward is the prince, because we began the activity. All the other roles however, are free game" Bella clarified regaining her composure. After this a frenzy of claiming parts, arguing, and screams of joy echoed throughout the picnic area.

"I'll be the cowboy!" announced a rather satisfied Jasper.

"And I call the gypsy!" Alice screeched happily.

"I'll be an elf" Angela said in a reserved tone.

"I want to be the knight!" yelled Mike at the top of his lungs worried someone would steal his favorite role.

"We'll be mermaids!" Jessica exclaimed while jumping gleefully with Lauren, followed by Eric claiming a knight to match Mike. Once the message spread to other tables, the remaining children made their choices known.

"Naturally I'll play the Goddess of the beach" Tanya stated with a hint of boredom.

"Sorceress is mine" called Jane possessively.

"I get the pirate captain!" yelled Victoria while quickly glancing towards Tanya awaiting approval. To this gesture she simply nodded and Victoria beamed towards the crowd triumphantly.

"I'll be a ninja" quietly inserted James as he quickly stood up for a second only to sit back down uncomfortably staring at his jar of pickles the whole time. After everyone's character was chosen, the real game began, except Alice noticed that someone neglected to join in.

"Hey, Laurent aren't you going to play?" inquired Alice as Laurent shifted uneasily on the bench.

"Well, I guess I'll be a vampire" he muttered, nearly too low for anyone to hear. At this Alice shuddered slightly and walked back towards Jasper. Soon everyone grouped themselves with their friends and commenced sorting out their partners and what not while Edward and Bella gracefully made their way atop a cleared table. When Edward successfully steadied princess Bella he firmly grasped he hand and she nudged him to start.

"Let the games begin!"


	5. Preparations

AN- I'm terribly sorry this chapter is so overdue, but I went to camp, and now I'm going to go on a 2 week long vacation, that'll be fun, but it also means no more new posts for a while. :( Don't worry I shall post shortly after that, so yay! Alright on with the story...

Chapter 5- Preparations

Total Words 1,794

Shortly after Edward declared the start of their game, he aided Princess Bella in her decent from the wooden table. Both children glided slowly towards the beach, hand in hand. Now was the time for building a castle and setting up their kingdom, which was always everyone's favorite stage. Naturally the first objective was obtaining costumes or props to better represent their characters, which for the royal family meant crowns. Edward carefully led Lady Bella in the direction of an abandoned stick pile along their path.

"Why don't you select a proper stick for your crown my dear?" eloquently suggested Edward as he waved his hand at the mound of wood causing her to giggle in a blithe fashion while leaning down to locate the most suitable specimen. After inspecting the heap, she removed her choice, a branch of birch that stood out with its magnificent chalky bark. Edward decided upon a simpler twig appearing to be oak.

"Here, let me help you Lady Bella" he offered once noticing the trouble her tiny hands were enduring.

"That's quite alright Sir Edward, I believe I can manage" insisted Bella, now bent on constructing her crown without anyone's aid.

However after moments of frustration, Edward, against her wishes, inched the stick from her hands only to skillfully twist its brittle fibers into a suitable crown. To this Bella glared half heartedly in his direction, simultaneously aware that his intervention prevented her twig from fracturing or splitting in two. He returned the thin halo to Bella with a smile exposing how pleased he was that his help irritated her so.

"Thank you" Bella squeaked, barely grasping the polite tone a princess should use, while Edward merely nodded refocusing his attention to the strip of wood in his hands. Its bark being composed of a more pliable substance made his task easier than necessary.

Soon both placed the crowns atop each other's heads with care, and hand in hand they continued smoothly to the beach. Unfortunately Bella's grace was only temporary, because she accidentally stepped upon a moss covered rock causing her to fall backwards towards the uneven ground. Luckily Edward easily wrapped his arms around her waist before her head could collide with the awaiting mud encased boulders. Her expression revealed embarrassment for consistently being such a burden, while Edward's showed nothing but relief that her fragile frame had not been damaged by the inconveniently damp earth. Silently they resumed their stroll through the forest, neither uncomfortable with the present company.

Soon the rulers emerged from the dense brush onto the sandy dunes overlooking a relatively calm ocean. A gentle breeze weaved its way through Bella's hair tickling Edward's face who rather enjoyed the sensation. Numerous children had begun compiling baubles for later use. Around three yards from where Edward stood holding loosely onto Bella's hand a tiny girl busily pierced the shifting ground with evenly spaced sticks while occasionally tossing stray sea shells in a stack of severed bivalves, all varying in color. Within minutes Alice's plot of sand transformed into three walls of twigs jutting from the sand and a canopy balanced on top made of leaves that were previously woven together into a sheet of green. From the roof hung a curtain of strung together shells which swayed complacently in the wind.

By far this development was the most meticulously built all along the beach. Once satisfied, the girl wiped her hand in an exaggerated fashion across her brow as she admired her labor's result. Being fully proud of her finished product, she skipped underneath the leafy ceiling and squatted atop the carpet of smooth sand. Suddenly realizing she was supposed to be in character, the little girl snatched a perfectly rounded sea urchin from beside her fortress. After placing it in front on where she sat, she began to whistle almost unconsciously.

"Edward, why don't we go build our castle?" inquired Bella after surveying their kingdom.

"Yes, what a revolutionary idea Lady Bella" Edward replied with a smile as he roped his arm around hers guiding her to the center of their beach.

The two walked a ways before the preferred location was discovered. It lay a few feet from the sea; however this plot of land sat not so near the water that being washed away was a valid concern, so both children knelt down and commenced raising their sand castle from the earth.

"How do you feel about a moat?" questioned Edward while he absent mindedly smoothed the wall that faced towards the woods.

"Sounds lovely" Bella replied, content with his wish, "Should we fill it with piranhas do you think?" she added, noticing how very unlikely it was that a shallow river would frighten any attackers.

"Perhaps, if these piranhas are trained to only harm intruders" Edward stated playfully while secretly hiding his fear of allowing even imaginary threats to endanger his Bella.

"Oh of course" Bella said, playing along, "what other kind would we have used?" They both chuckled at their conversation as they continued to connect the four walls. Bella positioned herself on the side closest to the ocean and began sculpting a wide door in the middle outlined by a row of shells derived from her surroundings. Now inside their spacious home, Edward sat gingerly carving windows in the unsteady sand.

Soon Bella completed the entrance and moved on to their castle's moat. Digging a deep ditch that clings to the exterior of the house it protects she began utilizing half of a large clam shell to more efficiently remove the unwanted sand. Just as she was finishing a quarter of the trench a figure approached her. Becoming aware of the sudden shade surrounding her, Bella glanced up towards a boy partially obscured by the intense sun. After adjusting her eyes to the light change, Bella observed his features. A short buzz of light brown hair covered his scalp with an upward incline at the tip. Currently he was clothed in a baggy t-shirt and pants hanging dangerously low on his hips. His hand cupped itself around a sword roughly constructed from drift wood and a grin buttered his heavily tanned face.

"Hey, I'm Eric" the boy announced as he cautiously twirled his makeshift weapon in his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Eric, I am Princess Bella" she calmly stated while placing a hand on her chest, "and this is Prince Edward" continued Bella shifting her arm in Edward's direction. Satisfied with their exchange, she quickly began shoveling more sand from her path.

"So whatcha doin there?" he asked seeming to have a concealed agenda.

"Oh, I'm simply digging a moat" Bella apathetically responded, already annoyed by his persistence.

"Do you want to see my horse?" Eric inquired as he reached behind his back for a stick, heavily decorated with knots and patches of worn away bark. Bella merely glanced up towards him expectantly.

"His name's Woody, get it? WOODY, cuz he's made of WOOD!?" he sputtered through bouts of laughter. His joking however, barely affected Bella who simply rolled her eyes, annoyed by his self-amusement.

"Yeah, so I just noticed that you guys might need some help with guarding this castle, so I'm here to protect it" proudly stated Eric while positioning his sword in a more threatening stance.

"I assure you, I definitely have everything under control" Edward stated in an irritated fashion, unsettled that this knight would question his competence.

"I'm sure you do, but just to be safe I'll stay any way" prodded Eric, feeling quite cocky at the moment, "We wouldn't want Bella to get hurt, huh _Eddie_?" he slyly added.

"That I will never allow your services are not required _knight_" rebutted Edward, who now stood menacingly above a less intimidating Eric.

"Now, now take it easy _Princey Pooh_" calmly replied Eric, now completely focused on the handful of sand now being scooped into his willing hand.

"Let's be civil Eric" pleaded Edward unconvincingly as he swiftly moved to shield Bella with his body.

"Oh it'll be civil alright; it'll be a civil war" the boy assured as he chuckled sinisterly.

Before Edward was allowed the opportunity to prepare, Eric viciously launched the sand at his opponent's chest. After it rammed against Edward's torso successfully and suddenly shattered into tiny clumps of damp gravel that cascaded towards his feet, Edward knelt down on the floor and collected a ball of his own. Prior to aiming his mass of sand at his snickering rival, he whispered for Bella to hide behind the castle. Once she safely secured herself, Edward glared in Eric's direction and hurled the sand cluster just to the right of his head. As the projectile passed by his ear, Eric began to laugh uncontrollably.

"Nice one!" sarcastically complimented Eric who bent over clutching his stomach.

Fortunately this apparently skilled knight happened to be as gullible as Edward assumed and failed to notice his retreat. Eric returned from his fit of laughter to realize the absence of an exceptionally elusive Edward. He suspiciously checked behind him before creating another ball of sand. After searching again to no avail, he decided to construct more sandy pellets. While Eric's attention was absorbed by his task of ammunition building, Edward managed to dart unnoticed from around his boulder to beside a fully unsuspecting Eric. By pelting Eric's back with blobs of sand he caused Eric to collapse upon his fresh batch of sand bullets. An enraged Eric responded by shoving Edward forcefully into the waves. Luckily he only stumbled slightly regaining his fighting stance quickly. Eric, however, was not as trained at combat as his partner so he grasped a glob of mushy sand and chucked it in Edward's direction.

This fatal lob cost Eric the match, for in the second he allotted to following through with the toss, Edward ducked the shot and rushed head first into Eric, who failed to react quickly enough. Soon Edward draped his opponent over his shoulder and carried him into the ocean. Once satisfied with the distance from dry land, he launched Eric's meager frame towards the water. Appalled with Edward's rash actions, Eric promptly wrapped his hand around his rival's leg pulling him down towards the sea. Having no time to adjust to the slick ocean floor, Edward slid unintentionally into the shallow water.

The battle continued in the water as malevolent splashing erupted. While the two children became engaged completely in their brawl, dozens of others accumulated to watch this thrilling spectacle. Amidst the excitement a naturally tan boy with black hair approached the scene warily. Once observing the crowd of enthralled kids, the fighters whose faces were painted with venomous expressions, and a genuinely worried Bella, he thunderously shouted out of pure confusion,

"WHAT THE HECK?!"


End file.
